False Positives Forum

This forum is intended to help those who Do NOT Abuse Drugs. We do NOT support the illegal use of any substance. If you have experience with false positives, share your experience. What would you tell someone about drug testing and false positives? Please remember that we do not give medical or legal advice.

Subj: Positive for opiatesDate: 4/19/2010I am on a methodone program. I have been clean with no heroine for over a year. My test came back positive and i am outraged. My counselor said they do extensive testing and the cut off is 300 and my number is 298. which means i have morphene in my body. I say Bullsh*t. How can i disprove what the test say? I have been eating poppy seed sandwhiches all week and this was the one time it came up positive for opiates. What gives this is not good. I am very upset. I was getting take home bottles this weekend and now i dont get them. Can someone help me? Thanks,
Noelle

AskDocWeb: Poppy seeds are known to cause problems with urine drug screens so you might ask yourself if eating them is worth the possible trouble that may cause.

Subj: LidocaineDate: 4/20/2010If you get a lidocaine shot would it show up on a drug test as positive for a trace of benzodiazepine?
Shauna

AskDocWeb: No.

Subj: Testing positive for benzodiazepineDate: 4/20/2010I went inpatient for drug rehab on March 19th. I was released on March 25th. While I was inpatient, I was given librium, suboxone, seroquel, along with a few other minor meds. Since I've been released, I have been in an intensive outpatient therapy program in which I get drug tested (urine) randomly once a week. For the past 4 weeks I have tested positive for buprenorphine and benzodiazepine. I am currently taking Seroquel XR, Suboxone, Trazadone, and Prilosec. I know the burenorphine is from the Suboxone, but I can't imagine why I'm still testing positive for benzodiazepine. I'm only taking what I've been prescribed as I am dedicated to my recovery and being sober. Could these all be false positives (seems unlikely) or are my medications that I'm currently on be causing this? I've tried to do research on my meds, but am having a hard time finding some of the info I'm looking for.
Adam

AskDocWeb: The medications that you list have not been reported to cause any false positives on urine drug tests. You may have to get a GC/MS test in order to find out what is causing your results.

Subj: LisinoprilDate: 4/20/2010Can the blood pressure medicine Lisinopril show up on a urine drug test?
Wes

AskDocWeb: Lisinopril has not been reported to show up on urine drug tests.

Subj: Extra Strength Pain Relief PMDate: 4/20/2010I have to take a pre employment drug test. I take Extra Strength Pain Relief PM every night to help me sleep can this make me fail the test?
Linda

AskDocWeb: That product has not been reported to show up on urine drug screens.

Subj: Tested positive for PropoxypheneDate: 4/21/2010I tested positive for Propoxyphene, and I have no clue what it even is. I only take headache medecine, asprin, and Ginko Biloba. I also had a cold a few weeks ago and I took a decongestant, and that is it. I have no clue how I could have come up with a false positive. Could any of these caused it?
Timothy

AskDocWeb: Propoxyphene (Darvon, Darvon-N, Dolene) is a narcotic drug chemically related to methadone that is prescribed for the relief of moderate to severe pain. It has not shown up either as a cause or a result in our list of substances that have caused false positives.

Last year (July 2009) the FDA decided to recommend strengthening the boxed warning for propoxyphene to reflect the risk of overdose. Dextropropoxyphene currently carries a black box warning in the U.S. that states:

Propoxyphene should be used with extreme caution, if at all, in patients who have a history of substance/drug/alcohol abuse, depression with suicidal tendency, or who already take medications that cause drowsiness (e.g., antidepressants, muscle relaxants, pain relievers, sedatives, tranquilizers). Fatalities have occurred in such patients when propoxyphene was misused.

Subj: LexproDate: 4/22/2010Can there be a false positive with a urine test with lexpro?
Interested party

AskDocWeb: Lexpro is not listed among the drugs that can cause a false positive on urine tests.

Subj: Positive for cocaineDate: 4/22/2010I have to take random drug test and the last one I took tested positive for cocaine and the only thing I could think that would have done that is hydrcodone 10. I have had gastric bypass and have to take many vit everyday and don't think that any of them would of done that am I right in my thinking this? Pls let me know if I need to get anything to prove this, thank you.
Densie

AskDocWeb: Hydrcodone is not in our database. Did you mean hydrocodone? That is an orally active narcotic pain reliever and cough suppressant. It is a semi-synthetic opioid derived from either of two naturally occurring opiates, codeine and thebaine. If you were taking hydrocodone then a GC/MS confirmation test may be required to correctly identify it.

Subj: Positive for cocaineDate: 4/23/2010I have a patient who tested positive for cocaine. He denies ever using it. Could I get a false positive with the patient taking Advair, Spiriva, Proair, Prednisone, Flexeril, Percocet or Ibuprofen? Thank you,
Betsy (RN)

AskDocWeb: The only possible cause that we see is the Percocet. That will test positive (not false) for opiates (References 3 and 20).

Subj: False Positive HELP!Date: 4/23/2010I had Jaw surgery back in December of 09 and was out of work two months to recover. I am on Relafen, Robaxin, Lortab-10, and xanax. I also have scripts for Tramadol, Oxycodone and Darvocet. I do not take these on a regular basis. I take the first 4 meds at night and sometimes take the darvocet instead of the Lortab-10 depending on my pain level. I was injured on the job, so I had to submit to a drug screen. Of all the drugs I take, only ONE actual drug showed up as positive, The Tramadol, Which since I have a script for it was ok. HOWEVER I came up POSITIVE for MORPHINE at 315. Cut off in their lab is 300. WTF?!? I cant understand how I would test positive for MORPHINE and not have even taken it! I was given it in the hospital but that was 4 months ago! And the test separated the opiates into categories, and the hydrocodone didn't show up positive! The xanax didn't show up positive! Darvocet didn't show up as positive! I haven't even taken the Oxycodone. I just popped up MORPHINE! So now I'm placed on leave because of this. I cant explain it! HELP? What could be causing this? I have also had gastric bypass and have never popped up positive on a drug screen before. Thanks.
Addie

AskDocWeb: Lortab is an opioid analgesic and may show up as morphine on a urine drug screen. Cough medicine containing dextromethorphan, poppy seeds on pastries, codeine, oxycodone, Opana, hydrocodone, and heroin have all shown up as morphine. A gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) or high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is used to identify specific drugs in the urine.

Subj: Positive for cocaineDate: 4/24/2010I take the following meds; fetanyl 100mcg every 48hrs. Norco-8 aday, klonopin, ambien, baclofen, zanaflex, lisinopril, prilosec, lidoderm patches-10%-3daily, amoxicillin. I have kidney issues-arf (wice in 6 mths. Liver disease-hep b&c. and have pneumonia! They (hosp.) Says I tested pos for cocaine! No way! Any ideas why?
John

AskDocWeb: We see two possibilities: There are several references that report amoxicillin showing a false positive for cocaine (13, 16, 18, 20, 21, 26, and 29) on a urine drug test. The second is that kidney disease or the drugs used to treat it have resulted in false positives for cocaine (References 3, 16, and 20).

Subj: False positive for opiatesDate: 4/24/2010I just noted in your false positives page that quinine in tonic water can give a false positive for opiates. How long does it take your body to rid itself of the quinine? Also will Lipitor of Lisinopril trigger any false positive results? One final question. Will drinking tea cause any false positive indications? Thank-you for addressing these issues.
PH

AskDocWeb: The quinine should be out of your system in 24 to 36 hours. Neither Lipitor nor Lisinopril has been reported to cause any false positives on drug screens. The only tea that is listed is Coca tea, which along with Coca leaf, Coca flour, and Coca oil have all been reported to test positive for cocaine (Reference 41).